The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (56-59) played game five of a six-game series on Saturday afternoon at Polar Park against the Worcester Red Sox (57-61). Lehigh Valley starter Robinson Pena (0-0, 0.00 ERA) was on the mound making his Triple-A debut against Worcester’s Brad Keller (2-2, 4.26 ERA).
Pena this year is 12-4, with a 3.95 ERA in 19 starts for the Reading Fightin’ Phils. He allowed 107 hits, 45 runs, 44 earned runs, 14 home runs, 7 hit batsman, 13 walks, 107 strikeouts, one complete game, and one shutout in 100.1 innings.
In the bottom of the second inning, Worcester had a runner on first base with two outs when third baseman Jamie Westbrook hit Pena’s sinker for an RBI double to right field scoring Kyle Teel for a 1-0 lead. Then, right fielder Eddy Alvarez hit an RBI double to right field scoring Westbrook extending Worcester’s lead 2-0. A ground out by Dalton Guthrie ended the inning.
Robinson Pina (5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K) threw 90 pitches, of which 57 were strikes. David Buchanan was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. Buchanan (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw 12 pitches, of which 9 were strikes.
Michael Rucker was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs and a runner on second base, Worcester shortstop Chase Meidroth hit an RBI single to left field scoring Eddy Alvarez for a 3-0 lead.
Meidroth tried to reach second base but left fielder Kody Clemens threw the ball to second baseman Rodolfo Castro to get Meidroth out and end the inning. Michael Rucker (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R) threw 16 pitches, of which 10 were strikes. Yunior Marte was the pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Marte (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw 11 pitches, of which 7 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley had one more to get back into the game at the top of the ninth inning. Lehigh Valley designated hitter Rafael Marchán grounded out toward shortstop Chase Meidroth for the first out, right fielder David Dahl struck out swinging, and a pop-out by second baseman Rodolfo Castro ended the game.
For the second consecutive game, the IronPigs were shut out by the Red Sox 3-0. The Red Sox win the series with one game left to play. Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with five hits. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Robinson Pena. The win went to Worcester pitcher Brad Keller, and Joely Rodríguez earned his first save of the season.
The IronPigs and Red Sox conclude the six-game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
